The Rolling Stones back to rock Hyde Park after 44 years

The Rolling Stones return to London's Hyde Park today - 44 years since they last played at the outdoor venue.

The legendary band top the bill on the second day of a new festival, Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time.

It is their first gig at Hyde Park since their historic free concert on July 5, 1969, which came just two days after the death of founder member Brian Jones and marked the live debut of his replacement guitarist, Mick Taylor.

That performance kicked off with frontman Mick Jagger reading extracts from a poem by Shelley in tribute to Jones, who was found dead in his swimming pool at home.

Sir Mick has already hinted that today's concert will feature many of the songs from the band's 1969 set list.

In an interview with Absolute Radio's Pete Mitchell, he said: "Obviously, the same set list is going to be used, it saves me having to think."

Former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor is expected to join the band on stage, and support act Gary Clark Jr, the blues guitarist, may also put in an appearance.

Celebrated music producer Bob Clearmountain has flown in to put his magic touch to the proceedings.

Grammy-nominated Clearmountain - renowned for his work as a live mix engineer - has been lined up to ensure recordings of the show are up to scratch.

The Stones play two shows at Hyde Park, the second next Saturday, and both will be filmed and recorded. It is thought the sound recordings will go on to be sold through the iTunes store, while footage is expected to form a future DVD release.

Although Clearmountain is not working on the sound which concertgoers will hear, he will be making the sure the sound of the recordings is the best it can be. He has previously worked on live albums Stripped, Still Life and Live Licks for the band, and also worked on their studio albums Tattoo You, including the single Miss You.

The Stones' performance at Hyde Park comes just days after their much-anticipated show as headliners at Glastonbury last weekend, which saw them run through many of their best known hits.